Contact point power pad for battery charger

ABSTRACT

An apparatus, system and method for providing a contact point power pad for use with a battery charger, such as may reside in a mobile device. The apparatus, system and method may include a base insulation pad, a plurality of alternately charged strips electrically connected to at least one voltage source and physically atop the base insulation pad, and a plurality of raised insulating ridges interstitially between alternating ones of the alternately charged strips. The apparatus, system and method may also include a mobile device for use with a power pad. The mobile device may include three contact balls electrically associated with at least one battery charger for providing charging power to the at least one battery charger.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This applications claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No.61/974,049, entitled “CONTACT POINT POWER PAD FOR BATTERY CHARGER” andfiled on Apr. 2, 2014, the entirety of which is incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The present disclosure is directed generally to power transfer, and moreparticularly is directed to a contact point power pad for batterycharging power battery chargers, and other power applications.

2. Background of the Disclosure

Wireless charging is known. More particularly, inductive charging, suchas using charging pads or charging mats, is well known. Efforts haverecently also advanced with regard to radio-frequency (RF) wirelesscharging. Although wireless charging methodologies may include physicalcontact between the charger and the device receiving the charge, mostwireless charging methods do not require contact between the charger andthe charge-receiving device.

Some methodologies of wireless charging may require contact between thecharger and the receiving device. In an exemplary method, alternatelycharged (i.e., positive and negative) points, strips, pads, or the likemay be provided on a charging mat or pad, and may be suitable to receivecharge-receiving raised locations on the device in need of a charge.

Although such contact-based wireless chargers may be simpler, and henceless expensive, and faster in providing a charge than non-contactwireless chargers, various issues are nevertheless present in the use ofcurrent contact-based wireless chargers. For example, to ensure contactwith alternately charged pads, points, strips or the like, more than tworaised locations may be required on the charging device. Moreover, dueto possible unevenness in the charging surface of the charging mat orpad having the alternately charged points, pads, or strips, flexibilitymay be needed in the raised charging locations on the device in need ofcharging to ensure good contact between at least two of the device's“charging bumps” and at least two of the alternately charged chargingfeatures of the power pad.

Also, the use of an undesirably large number of raised charge receivinglocations on a device in need of charging increases the expense anddifficulty in manufacturing the mobile device. These drawbacks areexacerbated by the need to provide flexibility in each of the chargereceiving locations in anticipation of an uneven charging surface, dueto the need for good contact between the charge receiving locations andthe charging device surface.

Therefore, the need exists for a contact-based wireless chargingapparatus, system and method that minimizes the number of chargereceiving locations needed on a device, and that eliminates the need toprovide flexibility in the charge receiving locations on the device toaccount for unevenness in the charging surface.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

The disclosure is directed to an apparatus, system and method ofproviding a contact point power pad for use with a battery charger, suchas may reside in a mobile device. The apparatus, system and method mayinclude a base insulation pad, a plurality of alternately charged stripselectrically connected to at least one voltage source and physicallyatop the base insulation pad, and a plurality of raised insulatingridges interstitially between alternating ones of the alternatelycharged strips. The plurality of alternately charged strips may compriseone of copper and aluminum. The plurality of raised insulating ridgesmay comprise a low coefficient of friction. The plurality of raisedinsulating ridges may have one of a rectangular, a square, anellipsoidal, a triangular, a hexagonal, a pentagonal, and ahemispherical shape. The plurality of raised insulating ridges maycomprise a composition of one of a plastic, a rubber, and a dieletric.

The apparatus, system and method may also include a mobile device foruse with a power pad. The mobile device may include a microprocessorcapable of providing operations, at least one battery for providingpower to at least the microprocessor, at least one battery chargercapable of charging the battery, and three contact balls electricallyassociated with the at least one battery charger for providing chargingpower to the at least one battery charger.

Thus, the disclosure provides a contact-based wireless chargingapparatus, system and method that minimizes the number of chargereceiving locations needed on a device, and that eliminates the need toprovide flexibility in the charge receiving locations to account forunevenness in the charging surface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The present disclosure is illustrated by way of example and notlimitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which likereferences indicate similar elements and in which:

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a 3-point-contact power pad for batterycharger;

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram illustrating the power pads configurations;

FIG. 3 shows a block diagram illustrating the 3-point contact and itsconnections to the charger input terminals through diodes;

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram illustrating the power pads self protectionagainst short circuit by external objects;

FIG. 5 shows a block diagram illustrating reverse current blockingdiodes for charging balls on a device; and

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a power pad having wireless,contactless charging capabilities.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It is to be understood that the figures and descriptions of the presentdisclosure have been simplified to illustrate elements that are relevantfor a clear understanding of the discussed embodiments, whileeliminating, for the purpose of clarity, many other elements found inknown apparatuses, systems, and methods. Those of ordinary skill in theart may thus recognize that other elements and/or steps are desirableand/or required in implementing the disclosure. However, because suchelements and steps are known in the art, and because they consequentlydo not facilitate a better understanding of the disclosure, for the sakeof brevity a discussion of such elements and steps is not providedherein. Nevertheless, the disclosure herein is directed to all suchelements and steps, including all variations and modifications to thedisclosed elements and methods, known to those skilled in the art.

Exemplary embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will bethorough, and will fully convey the scope to those who are skilled inthe art. Numerous specific details are set forth, such as examples ofspecific components, devices, and methods, to enable a thoroughunderstanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will beapparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not beemployed, that is, that the exemplary embodiments may be embodied inmany different forms and thus should not be construed to limit the scopeof the disclosure. For example, in some exemplary embodiments,well-known processes, well-known device structures, and well-knowntechnologies are not described in detail.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularexample embodiments only and is thus not intended to be limiting. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” may be intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “including,” and“having,” are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of statedfeatures, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, butdo not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features,integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groupsthereof.

As to the methods discussed herein, the method steps, processes, andoperations described herein are not to be construed as necessarilyrequiring their performance in the particular order discussed orillustrated, unless specifically identified as having an order ofperformance. It is also to be understood that additional or alternativesteps may be employed.

When an element or layer is referred to as being “on”, “atop”, “engagedto”, “connected to,” “coupled to,” or a like term or phrase with respectto another element or layer, it may be directly on, engaged, connectedor coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements orlayers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to asbeing “directly on,” “directly engaged to”, “directly connected to”,“directly atop”, or “directly coupled to” another element or layer,there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Other words usedto describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in alike fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent”versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). As used herein, the term “and/or”includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associatedlisted items.

Although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein todescribe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections,these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should notbe limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguishone element, component, region, layer or section from another element,component, region, layer or section. Terms such as “first,” “second,”and other numerical terms when used herein do not imply a sequence ororder unless clearly indicated by the context. Thus, a first element,component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed asecond element, component, region, layer or section without departingfrom the teachings of the exemplary embodiments.

The various exemplary embodiments will be described herein below withreference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description andthe drawings, well-known functions or constructions are not shown ordescribed in detail since they may obscure the disclosed embodimentswith the unnecessary detail.

The disclosure is directed, in part, to a contact-point chargingapparatus, system and method for power transfer. A multi-contact-pointpower pad, such as in conjunction with a device-resident 3-pointtriangular contact, may be used in certain embodiments to transferelectricity from a power source to a load. Accordingly, in exemplaryembodiments, contact-based power transfer may be achieved. This transfermay be categorized as a wireless power transfer since it doesn't requirecables connecting a power source to a battery charger. Instead,according to embodiments, the power pad and a device's contact-pointpower configuration (e.g., a 3-point triangular contact configuration ofdevice locations, also referred to herein as “charging balls”) make thebridge between the power source and a battery charger load. Moreover,power can be transferred to several loads simultaneously orsubstantially simultaneously, depending on the pad rating power and itssurface area.

By way of non-limiting example, such a contact-point power pad and powertransfer configuration may be applied to a wide variety of systems fromsmall hand-held devices, like a cell phone, to higher power devices,such as lap top computers. In certain embodiments of the disclosure, theinput power to the pad may be a regulated or non-regulated DC voltagesource with a certain power rating and a certain voltage or voltagerange, such as may depend on the device battery charger specifications.For example, battery chargers for cell phones, tablets and laptopcomputers often use a regulated input DC voltage, while there are someindustrial battery chargers which accept a non-regulated DC voltage asinput (within a certain range). Depending on the region of application(e.g., US, Europe, etc.), input power source (mains, solar, or a DCpower supply), and desired power level, the pad may be sourced by anytype of a 3-phase/1-phase, isolated/non-isolated, PFC/non-PFC AC/DCconverter, a DC power supply, or a solar fed DC/DC converter, by way ofnon-limiting example.

FIG. 1 shows diagrammatically a point contact power pad 10 suitable forsimultaneously (or substantially simultaneously) charging of one or morebatteries according to certain embodiments. Power pad 10 is shown in arectangular shape but can take different shapes such as square, ellipseor other shapes. The surface area provided by the pad may be sizedaccording to the intended device or devices to be charged, the requireddevice power or the number of different power areas on the same pad 10,and/or the number of battery chargers that may be electrically coupledto (such as by being laid down upon) power pad 10 at the same time.Further, the size and/or provided power from the pad may be variable,such as through the use of a foldable, rollable or otherwise flexiblepad for the variable size, and such as through the use of manually orautomatically variable power settings for the variable power.

The pad 10 may provide an insulated base plate/pad 13 for hosting thepower pad conductive segments. Such a pad may electrically insulatepower (PWR) strips from ground (GND) strips, such as, in part, using thedisclosed insulated ridges therebetween. The pad may, in conjunctionwith the base plate, provide a flat or non-flat charging surface thatmitigates a risk of the PWR and GND strips being short circuited byexternal objects.

Power PWR 11 and ground GND 12 strips form the conductive path for powertransfer between a power source and the load(s). These strips may takeany conventional conductive form and composition, such as copper oraluminum strips. The PWR 11 and GND 12 strips are illustratively shownin rectangular shapes but may be provided in numerous different shapesand sizes, such as rectangular, circular, trapezoidal, triangular,hexagonal, or pentagonal, and may take the form of pads, points,segments, or the like. The number of strips and their size, such astheir respective length, width, and thickness may be any suitable valueand/or may vary considering the operating voltage, rating power, maximumnumber of chargeable batteries, and the size of the charging contacts,such as the 3-point triangular contact balls as discussed herein. Stripthickness may, in certain embodiments of the present invention, bedetermined by, or be merely sufficient to support, the maximum currentdensity and mechanical strength desired. In certain embodiments, theconfiguration of strips is such that the connection between the powersource and the battery charger is achieved regardless of how the chargeris located on the power pad. The PWR and GND strips may be positionedatop, or embedded in, the insulating pad 13, by way of example.

Referring still to FIG. 1, the illustrated insulation base pad 13 takesthe form of a base plate of the power pad with the conductive partsaccessible from the top thereof. The insulation base pad is shown asrectangular in shape, although any shape, size, thickness, or rigiditymay be provided. In the illustrated embodiment, insulation ridges 14 areprovided between the PWR 11 and GND 12 strips, and may be integral withbase pad/plate 13.

In the illustrated embodiment, the ridges 14 advantageously provideelectrical separation between the alternately charged strips and maymitigate any need for spring-supported or otherwise flexible contacts,and may additionally eliminate the need for a 4^(th) point contact inlieu of or addition to a 3-point contact 19 on the device batterycharger. That is, the forced alignment that may be provided by theridges 14 may allow for the use of 3 contact points, rather than 4 ormore contact points, and may allow for those 3 contact points to besubstantially rigid in their construction.

In the illustrated embodiment, ridges 14 also advantageously protect thepower pad against short circuit by external conductive objects such ascoins, keys, etc., contacting both the PWR and GND strips, by way ofnon-limiting example. Ridges 14 may take various forms and compositions,and may be insulators as discussed above, dielectrics, or any othercomposition or compositions known to those skilled in the art.

Input power socket 15 receives power through power cord 21 from powersource 20. For example, a main power socket may be used for receivingpower from a DC power source that is sized and rated according to the DCvoltage and required power, may be used to power the pad. The externalpower source may connect to the main power socket through a two wirecable. This power source may connect a regulated or non-regulatedvoltage source to PWR and GND rails. The power source may be or receivepower from any suitable voltage source, such as a 3-phase/1-phase,isolated/non-isolated, PFC/non-PFC AC/DC converter, a DC power supply,or a solar fed DC/DC converter. Power socket 15 connects to the PWR 16and GND 17 wiring network connected to the PWR and GND strips.

The power socket circuitry may also include protective devices, such asfuse(s) and/or temperature switch(es). Such protective devices mayprevent breakdown, overload, or mischarging, and may have the datatherefrom recorded on one or more computing memories associated with thecharging pad.

Battery charger 18 forms the load for the disclosed power pad, and itsphysical size and its power rating may differ for differentapplications. In certain embodiments, the battery charger and power padrating voltages match and several different chargers can be powered bythe power pad simultaneously (or substantially simultaneously).

In certain embodiments, 3-point contact balls 19 may be provided on thedevice in need of charging. That is, one or more 3-pin equilateraltriangle contacts may be provided and/or protrude from/through a batterycharger enclosure, by way of non-limiting example. The three contactpins (“balls” or “bumps”) may be used to engage, e.g., electricallycontact, the power pad's PWR and GND strips under varying circumstances(e.g., varying lateral and/or angular placements). Unlike traditional4-point-contact configurations, the connection between the power sourceand the battery charger will be better assured, and deformation of thepins or flexibility in the length tolerance thereof will not benecessary to maintain that connection.

Each of the protruding contacts, e.g., contact balls, may be connectedto the input of the battery charger system through, for example, aplurality of diodes, such as two diodes per contact ball, for blockingreverse currents and providing for safe connections. Accordingly, sixdiodes, for example, may be used to provide electrical interconnectivitybetween 3-point-contact pins and the two terminals of the input of thebattery charger.

In certain exemplary embodiments, the contact balls may not be supportedby springs and may instead, for example, be fixed (e.g., soldered) to acharger integrated circuit or PCB. This may advantageously result insimplicity, lower cost, and higher reliability and robustness ascompared, for example, to a spring-based contact configuration.

Referring now also to FIG. 2, there are shown side views of a power pad10 and battery charger 26, insulation pad 21 and insulation ridges 22,according to certain exemplary embodiments. In the illustrations of FIG.2, power socket 15 is not shown. In the illustrated embodiments,insulation pad 21 and insulation ridges 22 are configured such that PWR24 and GND 23 strips are embedded in the insulation pad, although otherconfigurations may be used as discussed herein.

Insulation ridges 22 provide for a stable 3-point contact from thebattery charger, for example. In the illustrated embodiments, ridge 22tips are shown to be triangular 22 or circular 27 but may be provided ina different shapes or sizes, provided, for example, that the coefficientof friction of the ridges is sufficiently low to enable laying down of acharger 26 (e.g., 3-point contact) on the power pad 10 surface so as tobe forced to engage strips 23, 24. That is, ridges and/or ridge tips maybe rectangular, square, ellipsoidal, triangular, hexagonal, pentagonal,hemispherical, or any other shape, preferably such that when a pin sitson a ridge, it slips from the insulation ridge to the proximateconductive strip and thereby forces the balls to sit on the pad'sconductive surfaces under varying conditions to make a connectionbetween the power source and the load. Moreover, according toillustrative embodiments, ridge height may be short enough such that thepins of a contact will be located on both sides of a ridge but the ridgetips don't touch the charger enclosure surface, i.e., the batterycharger will not remain suspended and hence not in contact with acharged strip. Exemplary materials for the ridges may include, by way ofnon-limiting example, plastics, dielectrics, rubber, and various otherinsulators and low-conductivity materials as may be understood to theskilled artisan.

Referring now also to FIG. 3, there is shown an exemplary electricalinterconnection between 3-point contact balls 31 and battery charger 30input terminals, +/− 32 and 33. Since each ball of the 3-point contactcan be connected to either PWR or GND during different chargings, diodes34 and 35 establish the path for power transfer between the power padand battery charger terminals, 32 and 33. Diodes 34 should be voltageand current rated based on the particular application, i.e., based onthe charging power, charging rate, and the like.

Contact balls 31 may be of any suitable shape so as to engage strips 23,24, such spherical as well as triangular (such as in the case ofcontacts 36), for example. According to certain embodiments, thecontacts are sized, shaped, composed and generally configured to slidedown the ridge tips to settle down upon and substantially evenly contactthe power PWR and GND strips for charging.

Referring now also to FIG. 4, there is shown a block diagramillustrating that the disclosed embodiments may mitigate a risk of shortcircuit by external objects. In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 4,the pad may be analogous to those shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Insulationridges 43 help mitigate against external objects, such as coins 41 andkeys 43, providing an electrical short across PWR 23 and GND 24 strips.

By way of further non-limiting explanation, the disclosed configurationmay provide for charging several batteries simultaneously (orsubstantially simultaneously) and wirelessly. Such a configuration maybe cost effective, and relatively simple in design and implementation,yet provide a robust solution as compared, for example, to a4-contact-point power pad or contact-less power pads.

By way of further, non-limiting explanation, a 4-contact-point power padmay generally take the form of a 3-pin equilateral triangle contact withone extra pin in the middle of the triangle. The 4-pin contact willgenerally be attached to the battery charger enclosure and make theconnection between the power pad and the charger device through, forexample, 8 diodes 512, as shown in FIG. 5. Because of the 4 pinconnections, and the length tolerance and lack of deformation thereof,to better ensure the physical contact between the power pad and thecharger, the 4 pins or balls need to be non-rigid and/or flexiblysupported, such as individually by springs. In such a configuration, thecharger weight may press against these springs to provide for bettercontact between the pins and the power pad conductive area(s). However,implementing these springs adds cost and complexity to the system, andmay reduce system reliability and robustness.

Thus, according to certain embodiments of the present invention, a3-contact-point configuration, such as in the form of an equilateraltriangle in which springs or like-flexible aspects need not be used, maybe provided. As a result, the contact-point balls or pins attached tothe charger may be fixed and rigid, and may nevertheless establish asound physical and electrical connection between the power pad and thecharger input terminal.

That is, the power pad may be configured such that the 3-point contactpins establish a sufficient connection between the power source and theload under different relative placements, e.g., across varying lateraland rotational or angular positionings. According to certainembodiments, the insulating pad insulation may be extended, or providedwith an additional insulation, among the power and ground strips to forminsulation ridges or otherwise raised portions, such as at the perimeterof the charging area to account for different relative placements.

By way of further non-limiting example, the aforementioned contact-lessapproaches to wireless charging, including inductive chargers andcapacitive coupled matrix pad chargers, rely on the data transferbetween the transmitter (power source) and receiver (battery charger),which adds more complexity, uncertainty and cost to the system. On theother hand, a 3-contact-point and power pad configuration according tocertain disclosed embodiments establishes a direct (e.g., physicallycontacted) connection between the power source and the load or batterycharger, and as a result there is no or little need for wireless datatransfer—although wireless communication may be made available withinthe disclosed pad, such as to allow for interoperability on the Internetof things (IoT), by way of example.

Additionally, typical contact-less approaches may be dependent on thebattery charger location, and as a result, under some circumstances,these approaches lose their functionality. But, according to disclosedembodiments, the power pad and a 3-contact may be configured in a waythat, even under varying conditions and locations, the connectionestablished between the pad and the charger will be functional.

The wireless capabilities of the power pad may include other wirelesscapabilities in addition to the aforementioned networking connectivity.For example, the power pad 610 may provide one or more magneticresonators 612 capable of efficiently and wirelessly transferring power640 over distance via the magnetic near-field 614. As such, the magneticresonators 612 may serve as a power source, and one or more mobiledevices 620 may include resonance power field capture electronics 622whereby each mobile device 620 receives an electrical charge via theresonance capture.

In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6, the at least onemagnetic resonator 612 may be provided in the charging pad 610, such asthe charging pad shown and discussed in the illustrative embodiments ofFIGS. 1-5. As such, the exemplary charging pad 610 may be capable ofboth wireless contact and contactless charging.

The source resonator of charging pad may be connected to AC power 630,such as through the same or a different cord 632 as that which deliversDC-converted AC power to the charging pad. The source resonator theninduces a magnetic near field 638 as shown in the illustration of FIG.6. The resonant power field 640 resultant from the magnetic field 638may then be received by one or more mobile devices, as illustrated, andthe power thus delivered may vary in accordance with the powerrequirements of the receiving device. As those skilled in the pertinentarts will appreciate, the resonant field may be encoded as between themobile device and the charging pad, such as to provide enhanced securityin the wireless system and/or to limit that charged devices only tothose devices authorized to receive a charge.

Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the herein describedsystems and methods may be subject to various modifications andalternative constructions. There is no intention to limit the scope ofthe invention to the specific constructions described herein. Rather,the herein described systems and methods are intended to cover allmodifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents falling withinthe scope and spirit of the invention and its equivalents.

Moreover, it can be seen that various features may be grouped togetherin a single embodiment during the course of discussion for the purposeof streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to beinterpreted as reflecting an intention that any claimed embodimentsrequire more features than are expressly recited in each claim.

What is claimed is:
 1. A power pad, comprising: a base insulation pad; aplurality of alternately charged strips electrically connected to atleast one voltage source and physically atop the base insulation pad;and a plurality of raised insulating ridges interstitially betweenalternating ones of the alternately charged strips for slidablyreceiving ones of three contact balls of a mobile device, wherein afirst of the contact balls is guided to a first of the plurality ofalternately charged strips by a first of the plurality of raisedinsulating ridges, and wherein a second and third of the contact ballsare guided to a second of the plurality of alternately charged stripshaving a different charge than the first of the plurality of alternatelycharged strips by a second of the plurality of raised insulating ridges.2. The power pad of claim 1, wherein the base insulating pad isflexible.
 3. The power pad of claim 2, wherein the base insulating pad,the plurality of alternately charged strips and the plurality of raisedinsulating ridges are rollable in conjunction.
 4. The power pad of claim1, wherein the base insulation pad comprises a raised perimeter portionabout the plurality of alternately charged strips.
 5. The power pad ofclaim 1, wherein the plurality of alternately charged strips compriseone of copper and aluminum.
 6. The power pad of claim 1, wherein theplurality of alternately charged strips comprise pads.
 7. The power padof claim 1, wherein the voltage source comprises a DC voltage source. 8.The power pad of claim 1, wherein the DC voltage comprises an AC-DCconverted source.
 9. The power pad of claim 1, wherein the voltagesource is manually adjustable.
 10. The power pad of claim 1, furthercomprising a networked communication connection.
 11. The power pad ofclaim 1, wherein the plurality of raised insulating ridges comprise alow coefficient of friction.
 12. The power pad of claim 1, wherein theplurality of raised insulating ridges comprises one of a rectangular, asquare, an ellipsoidal, a triangular, a hexagonal, a pentagonal, and ahemispherical shape.
 13. The power pad of claim 1, wherein the pluralityof raised insulating ridges comprises a composition of one of a plastic,a rubber, and a dieletric.
 14. The power pad of claim 1, wherein aheight of the plurality of raised ridges is less than a height ofconductive balls of a device placed atop the pad.
 15. A mobile device,comprising: a microprocessor capable of providing operations; at leastone battery for providing power to at least the microprocessor; at leastone battery charger capable of charging the battery; and three contactballs electrically associated with the at least one battery charger forproviding charging power to the at least one battery charger, wherein afirst of the three contact balls is suitable for receipt by a first of aplurality of raised insulating ridges for slidably guiding onto a firstof a plurality of alternately charged pads of a charging pad, andwherein a second and third of the contact balls are suitable for receiptby a second of the plurality of insulating ridges for slidably guidingonto a second, differently charged one of the plurality of alternatelycharged pads of the charging pad.
 16. The mobile device of claim 15,wherein the three contact balls are substantially arranged in anequilateral triangle.
 17. The mobile device of claim 16, wherein thethree contact balls are substantially rigid.
 18. The mobile device ofclaim 15, wherein the electrical association between the three contactballs and the battery charger comprises a plurality of diodes suitablefor blocking reverse currents.
 19. The mobile device of claim 15,wherein the plurality of diodes comprise two diodes per each one of thethree contact balls.
 20. The mobile device of claim 15, wherein thethree contact balls comprise one of a spherical and a triangular shape.21. A system for charging a mobile device using a power pad, comprising:the power pad, comprising: a base insulation pad; a plurality ofalternately charged strips electrically connected to at least onevoltage source and physically atop the base insulation pad; a pluralityof raised insulating ridges interstitially between alternating ones ofthe alternately charged strips for slidably receiving contact balls of amobile device; the mobile device, comprising: a microprocessor capableof providing operations; at least one battery for providing power to atleast the microprocessor; at least one battery charger capable ofcharging the battery; and three contact balls electrically associatedwith the at least one battery charger for providing charging power tothe at least one battery charger, wherein a first of the three contactballs is suitable for receipt by a first of the plurality of raisedinsulating ridges for slidably guiding onto a first of the plurality ofalternately charged pads, and wherein a second and third of the contactballs are suitable for receipt by a second of the plurality ofinsulating ridges for slidably guiding onto a second, differentlycharged one of the plurality of alternately charged pads.
 22. The systemof claim 21, wherein the power pad further comprises at least onemagnetic resonator suitable for inducing a magnetic near field, andwherein the mobile device further comprises resonance captureelectronics whereby the mobile device receives an electrical charge viacapture of the magnetic near field.